2. Identify all of the different observations Alfred Wegener used to support his theory of continental drift.…
13. How does the development of the theory of plate tectonics illustrate the changing nature of scientific knowledge?…
Over the years proceeding the birth of the theory, increasingly convincing evidence has been gathered for proof of the theory of plate tectonics. In 1912, Alfred Wegner proposed the theory that continents are sat upon tectonic plates and that these plates are slowly drifting around the Earth (continental drift). Since then, volcanic and seismic events have made up a large proportion of the evidence towards the theory, including volcanic eruptions at both constructive and destructive boundaries, hotspots, sea floor spreading, paleomagnetism, and seismic earthquakes. However, not all of the evidence supporting plate tectonics comes from volcanic and seismic events; other evidence includes continental fit, geological evidence, biological evidence, climatological evidence and other activity at destructive plate margins.…
The puzzlelike fit of all the continents fossils of Mesosaurus, and similar rock structures on…
Volcanic and Seismic events are major pieces of evidence towards proving that plate tectonics theory is valid (40 marks)…
3. Pangaea is the proposed supercontinent that 200 million years ago supposedly began to shift apart and form our present continents. Alfred Wegener proposed this theory along with continental drift; Evidence he used includes matching fossils, rock types, and ancient climates.…
The evidence for his theory that the continents were once joined includes continental fit where some continents seem to fit together if they were placed next to each other. This is particularly true if the continental shelves are taken into account as the edges of the land masses. Moreover, there is geological evidence where rocks of the same type and age that display the same formation have been found in South-East Brazil and…
Wegener and his associates found that the fit of the continents, fossil evidence, paleoclimatic evidence, and similarities in rock type and structural features all seemed to bridge together the now-separated continental landmasses.…
References: Lutgens, F. K., & Tarbuck, E. J. (2011). Foundations of Earth Science. Upper Saddle Ridge, New Jersey 07548: Prentice Hall…
| * “Father of Plate Tectonics,” German meteorologist * Introduced his hypothesis in “Origins of Continents and Oceans” in 1915 * Suggested that a super continent called Pangaea (all lands) existed during most of the Paleozoic * 200 Ma (Mz) Pangaea began breaking up into smaller pieces (continents) and moved to their present location…
References: Mortenson T., (2003.). The Origin of Old-Earth Geology and its Ramifications for Life in the 21st Century, 1/9-6/9.…
A geologist by the name of Edward Suess not only noted that the continents fit…
- Charles Lyell’s (1800s): his interests ranged from volcanoes to stratiography or basically Prehistoric Archaeology. He argues that earth was shaped by slow moving forces still in operation today.…
Oreskes, herself, is an American historian of science. She has worked on studies of geophysics, environmental issues, such as global warming, and the history of science. She writes from the perspective of a historian and a scientist. She is associated with Harvard University, where she is the professor of the history of science, and was previously affiliated with the University of California, San Diego. She has received a bachelor of science degree from Imperial College, University of London and her PhD degree in Geological Research and History of Science at Stanford. She also received a National Science Foundation’s Young Investigator Award in…
1) The first evidence Wegner was able to find was the remarkable number of close affinities of geologic features on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. He found the continental margins of the subequatorial portions of Africa and South America fit together with jigsaw-on-like precision. He also determined that the petrologic records on both sides of the Atlantic show many distributions- such as ancient coal deposits-that would be continuous if the ocean did not intervene.…